Jane and Finch food bank looks for new home after getting priced out of headquarters
CBC
A food bank that's been helping to feed Jane and Finch families amid rising inflation and a deepening food insecurity crisis is being priced out of its home of 24 years.
The Society for the Living Food Bank says it was forced to leave its headquarters on Eddystone Avenue this summer after a new landlord raised the rent from $1,450 to more than $3,800 per month.
The forced relocation has been difficult after seeing record-breaking demand in recent months, says Venunye Nyamadi, the food bank's director.
"[It's] very sad that our clients are going through a housing problem and now the food bank also has a problem," she told CBC Toronto.
The massive rent increase has left the food bank operating out of two locations: the Oakdale Community Centre, which is temporary, and the Toronto Public Library's Jane and Sheppard branch.
The food bank's struggle highlights two issues at play in Jane and Finch. One is the increasing gentrification of the area, with rising prices for homes, rental units and now commercial space. The other is food insecurity — a growing problem across northwest Toronto that food banks says they aren't able to keep up with.
One client, who CBC Toronto agreed to keep anonymous, spends most of their income on rent and relies on the food bank to make due. And by the size of the growing line each time they visit, they say they aren't the only one.
"High food cost, high rent, low social assistance — I come here a lot," they said.
"But I notice now the line has tripled … by the time you get up [to the front of the line], sometimes there's not much left."
The Society for the Living's old unit, which was more than 2,000-square feet, was one of several at an industrial park near 274 Eddystone Ave. just south of Finch Avenue West and west of Jane Street.
The food bank now stores food in three shipping containers parked at its two outdoor locations, raising concerns about what clients will have to endure this winter when they have to line up for food outside.
We used to do our breakfast program where members would come in and have tea and breakfast as they wait for their food," said program manager Aisha Wovenu.
She says it's particularly concerning with temperatures dropping. "Whatever the weather circumstances, people are waiting because of the need for access to food."
The church that the food bank shared space with, Apostles Revelation Society, also left in the summer after the rent increased.
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.